Closure operator control mechanism



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.STEPHEN NTHONYHONI/A/ INVENTOR tates @Los oPERAroR CONTROL MECHANISMApplication July 24, 1956, Serial No. 599,808

3 Claims. (Cl. 187-48) This invention relates to closure operatorcontrol mechanism of the type applied to elevator doors, and is animprovement on the invention of U.S. Patent No. 2,634,828, granted April14, 1953, to William H. Bruns and Samuel Davis.

In present day elevator installations, it is common practice to open andclose elevator doors automatically by power actuated mechanism, and toprovide mechanism for protecting passengers and objects in the path ofthe closing doors. The invention of the above mentioned patent hasincreased the efficiency of elevator operation by rendering theprotective mechanism ineffective and closing the doors forcibly at areduced speed after their failure to close within a predetermined timeinterval. Closing the doors at a reduced speed permits a person in thedoor closing path to be nudged out of the way by the door without realinjury.

The invention is directed to improving the control of the protective andnudging operations and thus the efficiency of the operation of theelevator.

One feature of the invention is to reduce the extent of thepredetermined time interval during which the protective mechanism iseffective and thus render the nudging operation effective sooner whenthe car, upon making a stop at a landing, takes on enough passengerssubstan tially to fill the car.

Another feature of the invention is to prevent reduction of the doorclosing speed and to maintain the protective mechanism effective duringa door closing operation if the predetermined time interval expireswhile the door closing operation is taking place.

The invention will be described as applied to the circuits of theaforementioned Bruns and Davis patent. In carrying out the inventionaccording to the arrangements which will be described, should the cartake on substantially full load, load responsive mechanism alters thetiming of the circuits which provide the predetermined time interval, toreduce the extent of this interval. This brings on the nudging operationsooner and thus reduces the time that a car may be held up at a fioorwhen there is no room in the car for further passengers. As a result,the overall operating time of the elevator car is reduced. The circuitsfor providing the predetermined time interval are further controlled sothat should the doors be closing at the time that the predetermined timeinterval (or reduced by load interval) would expire, the time intervalis extended, or the door closing circuits are maintained, to enable thedoors to reach closed position at full closing speed. This obviatesslowing up the doors by the nudging operation, again decreasing theoverall operating time of the elevator car. The protective mechanismremains effective during this time and should it cause reopening of thedoors, nudging becomes effective for the next closing operation.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent fromthe following description and the appended claims.

2,918,144 Patented Dec. 22, 1959 In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a simplified schematic wiring diagram of a portion of thecircuits of Figure 4 of said Bruns and Davis patent, modified to embodythe invention;

Figure 2 is a simplified schematic wiring diagram of a modification ofFigure l; and

Figures ls and 2s are key sheets for Figures 1 and 2 respectively,showing the electromagnetic switches in spindle form.

The circuits are shown in across-the-line form and the relationship ofthe coils and contacts can be seen from Figures 1s and 2s where thecorresponding coils and contacts are arranged on spindles in horizontalalign-y ment with the corresponding coils and contacts in the wiringdiagrams.

The electromagnetic switches employed in the circuits are designated asfollows:

DC-door close switch DP-door protective relay DFX-auxiliary doorprotective relay DT-door time switch DTX-auxiliary door time relayH-field and brake switch LR-load relay LTD-passenger transfer time relayThroughout the description which follows, these letters will be appliedto the coils which are illustrated of the above designated switches and,with reference numerals appended thereto, to contacts of these switches.Circuits not reproduced will be understood from the Bruns and Davispatent. The protective contacts which control the coil of protectiverelay DP are designated herein as Y and may be any type of protectivedevice contact, such as one of the tubes DPT of Figure 4, contacts SSCof Figure 5, or contacts Bl of Figure 6 or 7 of the patent. Resistorsare designated generally as R and condensers as Q.

Referring to Figure l, as the car arrives at the floor at which a stopis being made, switch H operates to cause the opening of the doors andthereafter the automatic reclosing of them, as set forth in theaforesaid Bruns and Davis patent. While the car is running, contacts H2and H2 are closed, causing door time switch DT to be operated andcondenser QDT to be in a charged state. When the car makes a stop at afloor, these contacts separate to disconnect the coil of switch DT fromthe supply lines. Switch DT does not drop out at this time, beingdelayed by the discharge of condenser QDT. Also, as the car comes to astop, contacts H1 engage, preparing the circuit for the coil of relayDP, contacts DTI being in engagement. Thus, upon the doors having beenopened as the stop is made and a door closing operation initiated, theengagement of contacts Y of the protective mechanism, as the result ofsomeone being in the path of the closing door, completes the circuit forthe coil of relay DP. Relay DP operates to engage contacts DPI,completing a circuit for the coil of relay DPX and causing this relay tooperate. Switch DP and relay DPX act as set forth in the aforementionedBruns and Davis patent to cause the reopening of the doors.

`If the doors are in open position at the time of expiration of thepredetermined time interval provided by switch DT, the separation ofcontacts DTI, as a result of the dropping out of switch DT, breaks thecircuit for the coils of relays DP and DPX, rendering the doorprotective mechanism ineffective. Also, switch DT in dropping outengages contacts DT3 to short-circuit a portion of resistance RDMZ inparallel with the door operating motor armature DMA. This causes, uponsubsequent completion of the door closing circuit by 3 contacts DCZ andDC4, closing of the doors to take place at slow speed.

Should a car, when stopped at a floor, take on enough passengers so thatit becomes say 80% loaded, load switch LS closes Ato complete a circuitfor the .coil'of load relay LR. Load'switch LS may be a micro-motionswitch Aarranged for operation by the platform of the elevator car.Relay LR, when operated, engages Vcontacts LR1 to connect resistor RLRacross condenser QDT, providing a low resistance discharge path for thecondenser. This causes the earlier dropping out of relay DT and thusreduces the extent of the time interval provided by this switch. As aresult, the door protective mechanism is rendered ineffective andnudging is rendered effective sooner, thus reducing the time that a carcan be held up at the floor. This reduction in time interval may beadjusted so that, if the doors are not in the process of closing, switchDT drops out as soon as contacts LRl engage. The coil of relay LR isalso subject to contacts LTD1. When the car is in operation, contacts H4connect the coil of passenger transfer time relay LTD across the supplylines. When a stop is made, contacts H4 separate to break this circuit.Relay LTD does not drop out immediately but maintains contacts LTD1separated for a short interval, due to the discharge of condenser QTD.This prevents operation of relay LR when the stop ,is made, until aftertime is provided for passenger discharge to be effected, thus obviatingunwanted operation by load already in the car at the time the stop ismade.

Each time that the doors start to reclose, contacts DCS engage toshort-circuit resistance RDC in circuit with the coil of door timeswitch DT. This decreases the resistance of the discharge path ofcondenser QDT through the coil of switch DT so that, should the timeinterval provided by this switch expire while the doors are in theprocess of closing, the increased voltage applied to the coil of switchDT due to short-circuiting of resistance RDC maintains switch DToperated for a sufficient time to enable the doors to reach fully closedposition. Thus contacts DT1 remain in engagement and contacts DT3 remainseparated so that the protective mechanism remains effective and thenudging operation is prevented during this time, preventing theV slowingdown of the doors. However, should the door protective mechanism act tocause the reopening of the doors, the separation of contacts DCS permitsthe immediate dropping out of switch DT so that the door protectivemechanism becomes' ineffective and nudging becomes effective for thenext door closing operation.

Referring now to Figure 2, contacts H2 and H2' control the coil of relayDTX. As in the case of switch DT of Figure 1, the coil of relay DTX issubject to the discharge of a condenser, here designated QDTX. Also alow resistance discharge path is provided for condenser QDTX subject tocontacts LR1, as in Figure 1. Relay DTX controls the coil of switch DTby contacts DTXI. Thus, when the car is running, relay DTX and switch DTare both operated and when the car is stopped they remain operated solong as the charge on condenser QDTX is above a certain value. When thedoors start to close, contacts DCS establish a holding circuit throughcontacts DT4 for the .coil of switch DT. Should the time intervalprovided by relay DTX expire during a door closing operation, theholding circuit maintains switch DT operated to enable the doors toreach closed position. Switch DT holds contacts DT1 closed to maintainthe protective mechanism effective and contacts DTS separated to preventreduction of the door closing speed during this time. Thus nudgingcannot become operative under such conditions unless the doors arereturned to open condition as a result of operation of the protectivemechanism.

,Since many changes could be made in the above invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is intended that all mattercontained in the above descrip- 4 tion or shown in the accompanyingdrawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitingsense.

What is claimed is:

l. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to theelevator car at a oor, in which power operating mechanism is providedand is controlled to cause the automatic closing of the door afteropening thereof when the car makes a stop at said floor, in whichprotective mechanism is provided which, when an object is in the path ofmovement of said door, is actuated to prevent the closing of said doorby said power operating mechanism, and in which means including anelectromagnetic switch and a condenser connected across the coil of saidswitch provide a predetermined time interval initiated at a certainpoint in door operation and are operable upon the expiration of saidpredetermined time interval for rendering the protective mechanismineffective and for causing operation of said power operating mechanismto exert force to close said door at a speed slower than normal closingspeed; characterized in that resistance is connected in the circuitconnecting the coil of said switch to said condenser and that meanssubject to the closing of the door are provided for short circuitingsaid resistance to increase the amount of current supplied to said coilby said condenser during the door closing operation and thus increasethe extent of said interval a certain amount, thus acting underconditions where said predetermined time interval would have expiredduring a door closing operation to maintain the effectiveness of saidprotective mechanism for that closing operation and to cause the closingof the door to continue at normal speed unless interrupted by saidprotective mechanism.

2. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to theelevator car at any one of a plurality of lloors, in which poweroperating mechanism is provided and is controlled to cause the automaticclosing of the door at any one of said oors after opening thereof whenthe car makes a stop at that oor, in which protective mechanism isprovided which, when a person is in the path of movement of said door,is actutaed to prevent the closing of said door by said power operatingmechanism, and in which means including an electromagnetic switch and acondenser connected across the coil of said switch provide apredetermined timeinterval initiated at a cerain point in door operationand are operable upon the expiration of said predetermined time intervalfor rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and for causingoperation of said power operating mechanism to exert force to close saiddoor at a speed slower than normal closing speed; characterized in thatthere are provided means responsive to a certain load in the car at theoor at which the stop is made which are effective after expiration of atime interval sufficient for passenger discharge to be effected forcausing operation of said means operable to render the protectivemechanism ineffective and to cause operation of said power operatingmechanism to exert force to close said door at a speed slower thannormal closing speed to take place before the expiration of Saidpredetermined time interval, that resistance is connected in the.circuitconnecting the coil of said switch to said condenser and that meanssubject to the closing of the door are provided for short circuitingsaid resistance to increase the amount of current supplied to said coilby said condenser during the door closing operation and thus increasethe extent of said interval, thus acting under conditions where saiddoor is closing at the time said load responsive means becomes effectiveto maintain the effectiveness of said protective mechanism for thatclosing operation and to cause the closing of the door to continue atnormal speed unless interrupted by said protective mechanism. Y

3. An elevator installation in which a door provides access to theelevator car at any one of a plurality of oors, in which power operatingmechanism is provided and is controlled to cause the automatic closingof the door at any one of said floors after opening thereof when the carmakes a stop at that floor, in which protective mechanism is providedwhich, when a person is in the path of movement of said door, isactuated to prevent the closing of said door by said power operatingmechamism, and in which means including an electromagnetic switch and acondenser connected across the coil of said switch provide apredetermined time interval initiated at a certain point in dooroperation and are operable upon the expiration of said predeterminedtime interval for rendering the protective mechanism ineffective and forcausing operation of said power operating mechanism to exert force toclose said door at a speed slower than normal closing speed;characterized in that there are provided means responsive to a certainload in the car at the oor at which the stop is made after expiration ofa time interval sufficient for passenger discharge to be elected forreducing the extent of said predetermined interval,

that resistance is connected in the circuit connecting with the coil ofsaid switch to said condenser and that means subject to the closing ofthe door are provided for short circuiting said resistance to increasethe amount of current supplied to said coil by said condenser during thedoor closing operation, thus acting under conditions where saidpredetermined time interval or said reduced time in terval would haveexpired during a door closing operation to maintain the effectiveness ofsaid protective mechanism for that closing operation and to cause theclosing of the door to continue at normal speed unless interrupted bysaid protective mechanism.

Bruns et al Apr. 14, 1953 Nikazy Aug. 14, 1956

